Swingman DeShawn Stevenson was recently waived by the Atlanta Hawks, and per his Twitter account, he’d like to head to South Beach to team up with the defending champs for the coming season. WonderwhatLeBronthinksof this.

]]>http://www.slamonline.com/nba/deshawn-stevenson-upset-at-deron-williams-for-calling-out-last-years-nets/feed/25SLAMonlinePhoto: DeShawn Stevenson Has an ATM in His Househttp://www.slamonline.com/nba/photo-deshawn-stevenson-has-an-atm-in-his-house/
http://www.slamonline.com/nba/photo-deshawn-stevenson-has-an-atm-in-his-house/#commentsWed, 30 May 2012 13:50:37 +0000http://www.slamonline.com/online/?p=209449

DeShawn Stevenson tweeted a picture of himself just about to head out for dinner last night. He was bragging about the outfit he was wearing, but the rest of the world understandably took notice of the unbelievable fact that he has an ATM inside his own home. Never change, DeShawn.

Mark Cuban elected to let the Dallas Mavericks’ key free agents walk away last summer, choosing to half-heartedly defend their championship, while biding biding their time and saving money for the future. The result? A humiliating sweep at the hands of the OKC Thunder. Cuban says the NBA’s new labor deal is to blame. From the Dallas Morning News: “He said he understands why, emotionally, fans are disappointed that Mavericks management didn’t bring back last season’s NBA championship team intact. But Cuban reiterated his season-long stance that he and vice president of operations Donnie Nelson put together the best team they could under the guidelines of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. ‘I’ve heard some of the talking headless (media), and all I can tell you is, within the collective bargaining agreement we did everything possible to put the best possible team on the court,’ he said. ‘Period. End of story. If someone wants to read it (the CBA) and tell me otherwise, go ahead.’ […] So he has not had any second thoughts about not offering Tyson Chandler a multi-year contract in December, or taking the same approach with departing free agents J.J. Barea, DeShawn Stevenson and Caron Butler. ‘Hell no,’ Cuban said. ‘Nope. Not even a millisecond. Because those who are talking otherwise haven’t read the CBA and are just talking out their (expletive) without any foundation. But that’s what you guys do. Given what happened, I think we put together a damn good team. If we had one break, one call, one bounce, we’re having a completely different conversation and you’re thinking how smart we are instead of how stupid we are.’ Clearly, Cuban believes the biggest culprit in the Mavericks’ bumpy defense of the NBA title is the CBA. ‘If you want to nail me for something, I’ll be the first to admit that it was a huge (expletive) that I didn’t fight for the new (CBA) harder,’ Cuban said. ‘I said it before, I’ll say it again. It put us and other teams in a bad spot, and it was an overnight handshake deal that I should have fought harder. I’m the first to say that. That was my mistake, because once that thing passed, our hands were tied in a lot of respects. But within that, we did the best we could. And we’re not out of it yet.’ Cuban has chastised media members for not taking the time to read and fully understand the new CBA before forming opinions, and he reiterated that disappointment Saturday. Cuban pointed out that the Mavericks were under the luxury tax threshold before they agreed to acquire Lamar Odom from the Lakers. He said all of the roster decisions were based on trying to defend the title with the best team possible while keeping salary cap flexibility moving forward.”

While complimenting the new and improved Miami Heat, who tore up the visiting New Jersey Nets by 30 points last night, DeShawn Steveson managed to get in a subtle dig against his longtime nemesis LeBron James. From the Bergen Record: “Stevenson was asked the difference between the Heat of this year and the Heat that lost to Stevenson’s Mavericks in last year’s Finals. ‘I think we were just a better team than them,’ Stevenson said. ‘And then obviously LeBron didn’t play like he should have played [in the Finals].’ Stevenson had a lot to do with that, playing key defense on James and hitting several key shots of his own to help the Mavericks defeat the Heat in six games. James struggled mightily, extending the narrative that has dogged LeBron his entire career: he’s a great regular season player, but when the games matter most, or when the moment is there to be seized, he’s not the same guy. Stevenson, of course, has a tumultuous history with James — including a lot of trash talk between the two when Stevenson was with the Wizards and James was with the Cavs. Jay-Z even made a rap track dissing Stevenson. But mixed in with his dig, Stevenson also had plenty of praise for the Heat. ‘I just think they have more confidence,’ Stevenson said. ‘LeBron has more confidence, Dwyane Wade always played well. And I think Bosh even he’s stepping up big. They’re just a solid team. And whenever you’ve got LeBron playing like that, they’re going to win the championship.’ A moment later, Stevenson said he believed the Heat would win this year’s championship. ‘I think so,’ Stevenson said. ‘I really do. … They’re a great team, a team that went to the Finals last year. That’s the same pieces with even more additions. They play the right way. They picked us apart. Just a great team.’”

Blake Griffin was having himself a grand old time dunking all over the hapless New Jersey Nets yesterday, so DeShawn Stevenson took it upon himself to do something about it. This, of course, changed nothing as the Nets still lost. From the Star-Ledger: “The Nets’ DeShawn Stevenson admitted his flagrant foul on Blake Griffin was an attempt to send a message to the Los Angeles Clippers’ power forward after Griffin had been pushing the Nets around and throwing down dunks at will in the first half. ‘He was dunking all over the place,’ Stevenson said of Griffin, whom he bumped from behind when Griffin went up for another one of those lob passes with 3:22 remaining in the second quarter of today’s 101-91 loss. ‘I didn’t try to foul him hard, but when he’s up in the air like that there was no way I could give a foul but to bring him down.’ Stevenson said he wasn’t trying to hurt Griffin, last year’s rookie of the year and Slam Dunk champ. The Nets seemed to appreciate the effort. ‘I think it just showed that you can’t just let (Griffin) dunk all over us,’ Deron Williams said. ‘There were a couple plays where it was just one dribble and dunking on us and there’s no help. Things like that don’t happen with playoff teams.’”

According to the NY Daily Newsand others, the deal between the Nets and DeShawn is done. Hilariously, Stevenson becomes the first player in NBA history to play for a team owner who once wrote a diss rap song about him: “The Nets have reached an agreement with DeShawn Stevenson and will sign the veteran today, a source told the Daily News. The 30-year-old will be playing for his fifth team in 12 seasons, after starting 52 games last season for the Mavericks. He has career averages of 7.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists. Stevenson will join a crowded backcourt that includes rookie MarShon Brooks, but is versatile enough to play the 3. Famous for his feuds with LeBron James — and for playing a pivotal role in Game 6 of Dallas’ championship-clinching win over the Heat — Stevenson was once the subject of a diss record by Nets minority owner Jay Z, who was used the song to praise LeBron.”

DeShawn Stevenson is less than impressed with the folks guiding NBA players in this lockout, particularly Billy Hunter. From Yahoo! Sports: “For me, personally, I don’t think there will be a season,’ Mavericks guard DeShawn Stevenson said recently at Drew Gooden’s Make-A-Wish charity game. ‘Right now there is just a lot of bad blood and [the owners] keep putting offers out that we’re rejecting. So we’re not going anywhere.’ Stevenson thinks the owners have been slow to recognize how much the players have already conceded in negotiations, but he also points blame at someone else: Billy Hunter, executive director of the players’ former union. ‘I felt like we should have decertified in July,’ Stevenson said. ‘I feel like Billy Hunter is doing a horrible job because basically now [the owners] know our hand. The media knows our hand. The owners know our hand.’ Hunter pointed out that Stevenson hasn’t had a direct role in the negotiations. ‘DeShawn is entitled to his opinion,’ Hunter said. ‘It would be much more meaningful if he were more directly involved and would have understood what fully transpired and understood the issues. I think he’d be better informed. I respect DeShawn’s right to say and feel what he is saying. I can’t fault that. I don’t have nothing negative about DeShawn. He said it. It’s not justified, but he has every right in the world to say what he thinks.’ Jason Terry, the Mavs’ representative for the Players Association, was in New York on Nov. 14 when the union decided to disband. He said the players had ‘no choice’ but to turn down the NBA’s latest offer and that Mavs All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki supported the decision.”

Penny and Vince are just two of the big names expected to hoop in Dwight’s exhibition charity game. 11 others have also made a commitment to show up. Per the Orlando Sentinel: “Dwight Howard apparently encountered little difficulty convincing current and former Orlando Magic players to participate in his charity exhibition game Nov. 13 at UCF Arena. Kevin Samples, Howard’s manager, said that barring unforeseen conflicts, 18 people have committed to play, including former Magic players Vince Carter, Penny Hardaway and Steve Francis. Samples said the D12 Foundation also has received commitments from Gilbert Arenas, Trevor Ariza, Carlos Arroyo, Matt Barnes, Brandon Bass, Earl Clark, Drew Gooden, Rashard Lewis, Mike Miller, Jameer Nelson, Jason Richardson and DeShawn Stevenson. Those commitments are in addition to Ryan Anderson, Chris Duhon, Quentin Richardson and Daniel Orton, who have told the Orlando Sentinel directly or through their agents that they expect to play.”

Jason Terry has already made it clear that he intends to stick around Dallas for a long time, and he wants DeShawn Stevenson playing alongside him. Nearly demands it. Per ESPN: “Jason Terry said the draft-night trade for shooting guard Rudy Fernandez was not surprising news. However, if the acquisition means the loss of DeShawn Stevenson, Terry said that would be very unsettling news. Terry, who fought along with Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki for Stevenson to start early in the season and then again prior to the playoffs, made a strong pitch for the team to re-sign Stevenson, an unrestricted free agent who no doubt increased his value with an impressively gritty postseason. Of course, with the lockout Terry hasn’t been able to make his voice heard to management. It’s not stopping him from campaigning. ‘Oh, we got to get DeShawn back. Unless you can find another guy like DeShawn,’ Terry said. ‘DeShawn just has ‘it.’ Whatever that is, it’s special and I’m a guy that’s fighting for him to be back with the Mavericks.’ … ‘What he did in this organization for us, you can’t put a price on it. Because me, watching the playoff series, not only the championship, but the first, second, third rounds, he defended his butt off and he set the tempo for us,’ Terry said. ‘That kind of toughness you can’t buy. It has to be in you. He’s one of the few guys in this league that has that and it’s special, it’s unique and I believe it’s at premium. And, I think it’s something that we have to have on our team going forward. Is Rudy Fernandez that type of player? Not that I know. He’s more offensive-minded. Is he tough? Yeah, he’s tough, but to guard Kobe [Bryant] and [Kevin] Durant and LeBron [James] and Dwyane Wade, you have to have a certain nastiness about you, and DeShawn Stevenson has that.’”

I have no clue if they will, but Stevenson’s agent seems to think so. From ESPN: “Mark Bartelstein, agent for down-and-dirty shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson, who proved himself as being resilient, a hard-edged defender and quite capable of draining big 3-pointers on a championship squad, said he spoke to [Donnie] Nelson after the Mavs traded for shooting guard Rudy Fernandez on draft night, a move that, on the surface, said good-bye to Stevenson, an unrestricted free agent. ‘I spoke to Donnie after the trade and he said that’s not the case at all,’ Bartelstein said. ‘He made it very clear that he’s somebody they want back.’ (All talks between teams, players and agents ceased on July 1 when the collective bargaining agreement expired and the lockout started) The trade for Fernandez put the number of players on the Mavs’ 15-man roster at 16. It boosted the number of shooting guards on the roster to five and those who can play the position to seven. Six players on the roster are free agents, including Bartelstein client Brian Cardinal. Dallas has close to $62 million locked up in players under contract for 2011-12. They dearly want to re-sign free agents Tyson Chandler (who won’t come cheaply) and Caron Butler, with J.J. Barea and Stevenson also having increased their value with strong postseasons. And, of course, no one knows what the salary cap parameters will be once a new collective bargaining agreement is enacted. So the question regarding Stevenson has never really if the Mavs want to re-sign him, but rather can they afford to?”

The Mavericks celebrated their NBA Championship today with a parade through the streets of Dallas and a rally at the American Airlines Center. And despite being arrested two days ago for public intoxication, Mavs guard DeShawn Stevenson was able to make his $475 bail yesterday just in time for the party. During the celebration, a Mavs announcer asked Stevenson if he had any final words for the Miami Heat and in particular, LeBron James: “You saw what my shirt said. We got the ring baby!”

The man who thinks the Miami Heat are a “classless” bunch, was booked on charges of public drunkenness last night. Per TMZ, which has the glorious mugshot (word to the Abe Lincoln tat!): “Law enforcement sources tell us, police received a call about some drunk guy wandering around an apartment comlpex in Irving, TX last night — and when cops showed up, they found Stevenson … who said he was lost. Stevenson — who does not live in the apartment complex — then flunked a field sobriety test … and was arrested for public intoxication. Law enforcement sources tell us, the officers ‘felt he was a danger to himself and others.’”

Hmm, how sweet victory is. After Dallas defeated Miami Sunday night to win the NBA Finals, outspoken Mavs guard DeShawn Stevenson let loose, calling out his haters and taking jabs at various players, notably LeBron James. In a ‘beef’ that dates back to the Cavaliers-Wizards playoff series’, Stevenson appears to have the last laugh for now. His latest antic: sporting a t-shirt with the message ‘Hey LeBron! How’s My Dirk Taste?’ From CBSSports.com:

“After poking and prodding Miami Heat forward LeBron James throughout the 2011 NBA Finals, Dallas Mavericks guard DeShawn Stevenson got in one final shot following Dallas’ NBA title. The Mavericks closed out the series on Sunday night with a 105-95 win in Game 6 beforetaking to South Beach club LIV to celebrate with the Larry O’Brien trophy. On Monday, the Mavericks flew home to Dallas, where Stevenson was spotted wearing a Mavericks blue and white t-shirt with lettering that read: ‘Hey LeBron! How’s my Dirk taste?’ That slogan is an obvious reference to a Shaquille O’Neal freestyle rap. O’Neal used the line, ‘Hey Kobe, tell me how my a** taste’ to mock his former teammate with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant. To add a play on teammate Dirk Nowitzki’s name here is incredibly inspired work from Stevenson, who may well have created a legacy for himself as ‘The Guy Who Got Into LeBron’s Head Completely’ in these 2011 NBA Finals. The most underrated part of this shirt is that it bears the sponsorship of HDNet, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban’s television station. It’s almost like Cuban is personally endorsing the joke.”

“It makes me feel good, man, to beat him, to beat that Miami team,” Stevenson [said]. “The way they act, the way they treated Dirk [Nowitzki], all the things that they said were very classless. To win on the court the way we did it, it was wonderful.”

Stevenson, like many of the Mavericks, did not feel as if the Heat respected them during the series. That added a little extra enjoyment to Sunday night’s celebration. “I think we did it with class,” said Stevenson, who was involved in a shoving match with Miami’s Udonis Haslem and Mario Chalmers that resulted in technical fouls for each during the second quarter of Game 6. “They tried all kind of different things and made fun of us and were on the go-karts laughing after Game 1, like they already won the championship. To beat them on their court, it feels good.“

DeShawn Stevenson and his Abe Lincoln neck tattoo are headed to the White House along with the rest of the NBA champion Mavericks next year. This is actually happening.

]]>http://www.slamonline.com/nba/deshawn-stevenson-thrilled-to-beat-classless-miami-heat/feed/53SLAMonlineDeShawn Stevenson Says He Has Too Many Tattoos to be on Facebookhttp://www.slamonline.com/nba/deshawn-stevenson-says-he-has-too-many-tattoos-to-be-on-facebook/
http://www.slamonline.com/nba/deshawn-stevenson-says-he-has-too-many-tattoos-to-be-on-facebook/#commentsSun, 12 Jun 2011 14:52:49 +0000http://www.slamonline.com/online/?p=138530

In a recent Facebook status update, some guy posting as Mavs swingman DeShawn Stevenson referred to LeBron James as “overrated.” But it wasn’t the real DeShawn Stevenson, the real DeShawn Stevenson is claiming, with some pretty absurd reasoning being used as evidence. Via ESPN Dallas: “DeShawn Stevenson does not have a Facebook page. That’s newsworthy because somebody who claims to be Stevenson posted on Facebook: ‘I told em Lebron is Overrated but did they listen? swag.’ Coach Rick Carlisle caught wind of that and confronted Stevenson, telling him to stop talking trash about LeBron James. Stevenson, whose history of taking verbal jabs at King James goes back several years, was confused and told his coach that the latest comment didn’t come from him. ‘There’s like 37 people that are acting like me on Facebook,’ Stevenson said. ‘I mean, if you look at me and look at all these tattoos, do you think I’d be sitting on the Internet and typing? C’mon, man. Sometimes you’ve got to look at a person. I would not be in my house on a computer typing nothing about anybody.’ Stevenson said he doesn’t know how to use Facebook. Nor does he want to learn. ‘I can’t get on there because I would say something reckless,’ Stevenson said. ‘That’s why I don’t have nothing on there. That’s why really I can’t have one.’”

As the NBA Finals have progressed, with Dallas gaining momentum, we’ve seen the Mavs talk quite a bit of trash to LeBron (particularly, Shawn Marion.) According to DeShawn Stevenson, James isn’t really out to make people pay for their words. From Yahoo! Sports: “These Dallas Mavericks go to great lengths to mess with him, hurling insults and insinuations with regularity that they never would’ve dared with different superstars. Why? Because they believe it messes with his mind. They believe the words will fester within him, keep him thinking when he ought to be reacting. Terry says James can’t guard him, and so far he’s been right. DeShawn Stevenson essentially called him a quitter in Game 4. Shawn Marion appeared to call him much worse on the floor, too. James won’t get mad, and James won’t get even and make people pay a price. When opposing players hear people insist they ought to be respectful of James out of fear of retribution – be careful they don’t stir him with words – they privately giggle. ‘Different guys are different,’ Stevenson [said]. ‘Kobe Bryant feeds off stuff like that. He looks for it every time. LeBron’s a different kind of person. Obviously he’s a freak of nature, able to do a lot of things, but everybody in this league is built different.’ Built differently. Translated: Where’s the killer within? Where’s the best player in basketball, the prodigious talent that left the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics crumpled messes back in the Eastern Conference? Where’s the cold-bloodedness? Where is this guy?”

Though he quickly back-tracked from his comments, DeShawn let it be known what he thought of LeBron’s strangely passive play in Game 4. James, though, refused to engage in a war of words. From the Star-Telegram: “LeBron James’ disappearing act in Game 4 of the NBA Finals was a topic of discussion Wednesday. Dallas Mavericks guard DeShawn Stevenson, who had regular battles with James when the two were with the Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers, respectively, stirred the pot by saying that James had ‘checked out’ of the game. Stevenson later clarified his remarks. ‘When I said ‘checked out’ I didn’t mean anything negative,’ Stevenson said. ‘I just think when you have players like Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, you tend, when they have it going, to defer.’ James seemed to take it in stride. ‘DeShawn, he’s been talking for a long time, since [the] Washington-Cleveland days,’ James said. ‘I don’t let that get to us … Talk is cheap.’”

According to Stevenson, the Miami Heat’s dynamic duo spends far too much time complaining to the refs, which DeShawn can appreciate: “The drama that Heat players Dwyane Wade and LeBron James use when it comes to making fouls look more egregious than they really are is starting to wear on the Mavericks. As Stevenson said Monday, if you touch the Heat’s stars, ‘They’re great, great actors and they sell it.’ … ‘Coach said it before the series we have a chance to push the ball like we like because [Wade] complains to the ref a lot,’ Stevenson said. ‘We’ve got to take advantage of that. They tend to do that and we’ve got to take full advantage of that … He does it all the time. He did it like seven times [Sunday].’ Wade declined to comment when asked to respond, saying he would ‘talk about that after the series.’”

My name is Lang Whitaker, and after announcing my full-time departure from SLAM and taking the last few weeks off from SLAMonline, I’m back on the grind for the NBA Finals.

I’ve been gone from SLAM full-time for a few weeks now, which in internet time is like 8,000 years. In the meantime, I’ve been spending my days working hard at doing mostly nothing. Sure, I’m still recording podcasts with Sekou for NBA.com. I’ve been taking meetings, lunches and dinners. I wrote a couple of SLAM magazine features for the next two issues. I went to Oklahoma City for Round One of the Playoffs, then went to Atlanta for Round Two. I’ve been out pimping for my book, and I finished off my second season of “The Beat” on NBA TV, and even wrote a couple of Playoff-related pieces for GQ.

So I haven’t been completely useless. But with the weather turning beautiful this spring, and without an office requiring my presence hanging around, I’ve spent my mornings juggling emails and phone calls, then set out to enjoy my life. I’ve gone jogging in the middle of the day, taken my dog Starbury on unbelievably long walks, brought Starbury outside while I spent hours sitting on benches in the park outside my house reading and staring at the Hudson River. For the most part, I’ve worked hard at not working. I feel I deserve it, at least for a while, or until the money runs out.

I’ve also spent significant time working my way through my back catalogue of video games. Once I finished those, I recently immersed myself in the world of LA Noire, the new crime procedural video game from Rockstar. It’s a strange ride, the least action-y action game I’ve ever played. The game is set in 1940’s Los Angeles, and you are an up-and-coming police detective, running around Hell-Ay charged with solving a series of gruesome murders. The way you’re supposed to solve these crimes involves scouring crime scenes looking for clues, then interviewing suspects and trying to piece together what happened. There are a few gunfights and chase sequences, but the majority of the time is spent talking to digitized people.

As someone who basically makes a living interviewing people, I thought I’d be pretty good at LA Noire, especially the part where I’ve got the perps in the interview room and I’m grilling them for information. I know how to listen to people, how to broach sensitive topics, how to bob and weave, how to drop the hammer when necessary. Yet, at least in the world of LA Noire, I’m terrible at interviewing people. These criminals lie to me and get away with it. I accuse innocent people of doing horrible things they haven’t done, then let guilty communist sympathizers walk away free.

After a lot of consideration, I think the reason I’m subpar as a digital interviewer is because I’m trying to apply real-world logic to an unreal world. When I ask a suspect if he knew the murder victim and he tells me no, he did not, then refuses to look me in the eyes and gets all fidgety, I immediately believe I’m being lied to. What really matters, however, outside of the game, is whether or not the video game programmer wants me to think I’m being lied to. So instead of just reading and reacting to the characters in the game, you need to read and react to the people who developed the game — the producers, writers, animators, etc. How did these people expect me to respond, and how can I out-fox them? The more I play LA Noire, the more I realize how my initial, instinctive reactions are pretty much worthless. I try and think deeper and deeper, in what can quickly become circular logic. Before you know it, you’re busy trying to out-think yourself.

Similarly, in assessing these NBA Playoffs, I’m not sure if I should believe what my brain is telling me to think. At the most basic level, I think Miami has the best player in the series, and maybe in the NBA, in LeBron. No matter how you rate Dirk versus Wade, Miami has two superstars and Dallas has one. Miami also has home court advantage, and they have two superstars who can drive to the rim, who will get calls and get to the line. And they’ve got LeBron and Bosh, who can reasonably be considered able to defend Dirk one-on-one. So my initial thought is that Miami must have the advantage.

Then, the more I think about it, the more questions arise. Can Marion/Stevenson stop LeBron? Can Terry/Kidd stop Wade? Who runs the point for Miami? Does it matter if they don’t really have a point guard? Can Wade start playing the way he did earlier in the Playoffs? Will anyone on Miami be able to shut down Dirk? Will they be able to even slow him down at all? Can anyone on Miami keep up with JJ Barea? Will JJ Barea’s wifey be at any of the games? Will Miami go zone? Will Dallas go zone? Will the classic LeBron/DeShawn battle rear its ugly head and require someone to “Blow the Whistle”?

The last time these teams squared off in the Finals, back in 2006, was the first time I covered the Finals in their entirety. I spent over two weeks going back and forth from Dallas and Miami, flying over 8,000 miles, even hitting NYC for a day between each stop. My saving graces during that time were the 2006 World Cup, and discovering The Ricky Gervais Show, the greatest podcast on earth. Last night I went back and re-read all my notes from that series. I remember thinking Dallas had it locked up after winning Games 1 and 2, then thinking Miami would definitely win it after taking all the games in Miami, which they eventually did. What ended up making the most difference in the entire series was Dwyane Wade. Yes, he shot a lot of free throws, but he also drove to the basket and forced contact over and over again.

So Wade was the best player in that series. And his team won the series.

Maybe I’m overthinking these Finals. Perhaps, like in LA Noire, I’m overthinking the thinking behind the questions and not looking at simple logic. This all makes me sympathetic toward Ricky Gervais’s sidekick, the great philospher Karl Pilkington of Manchester, a man who once asked, “Does the brain control you or are you controlling the brain? I don’t know if I’m in charge of mine.”

Boiling it down, the best player in this series will lead his team to a title. And I’m guessing that LeBron James will be the best player in this series. Which leads me to believe that his team will win.

Then again…what if Dirk turns out to be the best player? And what if having a lot of really good players is more important than having two superstars?

Crap, I’m doing it again.

OK, look, I don’t have any idea who’s going to win. Trying to keep it simple, I’ll pick Miami in 6. But I wouldn’t be shocked if Dallas pulls this off.

On Tuesday, I’m flying into Miami and I’ll ride with you guys here on SLAMonline throughout Games 1 and 2.

Derrick Rose was presented with his MVP trophy just before tip-off last night in an emotional ceremony in which he stated that the award wasn’t for him, but for the City of Chicago. Then, the Bulls went out and did what everyone was really there to see them do, win Game 2.

It was a must win for Chicago, no doubt, as they couldn’t afford to head to Atlanta down 0-2. The game was ugly on both sides, but the Bulls played much better defense on Wednesday night than they did on Monday night and managed to walk away with the series tied at one game apiece.

Joe Johnson and Jeff Teague both continued to play well. Johnson, although he didn’t score 30+ in this game, still managed to shoot efficiently and seems to be the only reliable and consistent scorer that these Hawks have. Teague has also been a pleasant surprise. In two games he’s not only shot the ball well, he’s also taken care of it to the tune of having only 1 turnover, which occurred in Game 2. I think most predicted him to play and perform well, but I’m not sure anyone could have predicted that he would play this well.

For the Chicago Bulls, it was an ugly win, but they’ll take it nonetheless.

Derrick Rose still hasn’t played well, and last night was especially bad as he scored 25 points point but took 27 shots to do it (1-8 from the three-point line). He also had 8 turnovers to go with his 10 assists. Still, the shots that he did make seemed to be timely, and at least he got to the FT line this time.

Joakim Noah was a beast as he had 19 points and 14 rebounds, 7 of those came on the offensive glass. He totally outplayed Al Horford and seems to be establishing himself as a strong presence in this series as supposed to the Pacers series in Round 1.

Luol Deng played solid but Carlos Boozer is still struggling. It’s gotten so bad that Bulls fans in the United Center have begun to boo him whenever he’s out on the floor or being subbed out of the game. His teammates have rallied behind him, but you have to think that something like that is really bothering him.

All in all, the both the Bulls and the Hawks did what they were supposed to do in the first two games. Atlanta stole one and Chicago won a game that they couldn’t afford to lose. This all sets up nicely for Game 3 on Friday in Atlanta. – Bryan Crawford / @_BryanCrawford

There’s a lot to say about the Mavs’ 93-81 win over the Lakers. Most of those things are questions, like “How?” and “Why?”

There might not be answers. All we can do is explain it, like a UFO sighting or a very complicated crime scene, and hope we parse it out by Friday so we know what to expect.

That’s mostly what this 2-0 series lead is at this point, anyway—a very complicated crime scene. Everything you know is dead, everyone is ruled by confusion, and the Mavericks are running away scot-free because they’re too scary-looking to try to needle at.

So, the explanation. The Mavericks came out a little hot. DeShawn Stevenson hit those corner threes he’s hit for two months in his entire career, and those two months were at the start of this season. He looks like that guy again. He has the swagger of a thousand Marines on port. It was contagious.

The Mavs led early and the Lakers crawled back. Little bits of Kobe here and there until the crying stopped. He figured out Kidd, so they switched Stevenson on to him. Then this process repeated. The Lakers had glimpses of the lead, but decided they didn’t want it, so they lent it back like ugly jewelry.

Not to be all terribly linear here, but then the third quarter came and the Lakers couldn’t hang anymore.

The 2005 Detroit Pistons. That’s it. That’s what you were thinking of all that time you were trying to think of how well this Dallas team collapsed around the Lakers in the paint in this quarter. Pau began missing so many layups that Lakers fans were booing a team that was down 5 in a Playoff game.

Nobody in gold got any looks worth taking within 16 feet. This wouldn’t be a world-ending problem if the Lakers could hit a jumpshot tonight. They couldn’t. The third quarter shot chart is actually kind of funny, if you find lots of spread apart Xs hilarious.

Oh! We should probably mention the murder weapon at this point. We’ve been focusing so much on the confusion because it’s so compelling in hindsight—it would make for a masterful episode of Cops—but there was a definitive attacker and a definitive victim.

The attacker was JJ Barea, of all people. He penetrated on a defense that forgot how switches on pick-and-rolls work and just took over. A floater here. A Kidd three there. A Brendan Haywood dagger dunk with about five minutes left. He looked like a real second option tonight and it kind of freaked everybody out.

The Mavs are all pent up with swagger right now, and why not? It’s a whole postseason of has-beens and hustle players turning into superheroes.

So, of course, the Lakers are exactly like us right now: They have no answers.

Sorry, Roddy Beaubois. But DeShawn has taken your spot in the starting lineup for the postseason. From ESPN: “Carlisle wouldn’t commit to continuing to use DeShawn Stevenson as the starting shooting guard, as was the case for most of the season while Beaubois slowly recovered from a broken foot and again in the regular-season finale. But it’s clear from listening to Carlisle and the team’s key veterans that it’s Stevenson’s job for the playoffs, while Beaubois will perhaps be a bit player off the bench. ‘Things change,’ Carlisle said. ‘And you’ve got to be judged by performance. I think the last time I said, ‘I’m sticking with this kid’ was over a week ago. Some things have changed in that period of time. That’s just the way it is.’ Actually, nothing changed for Roddy B. during that period of time. That’s the problem. Beaubois’ struggles simply continued. The trend of foul trouble didn’t end. He didn’t find his offensive rhythm, averaging only 6.7 points on .368 shooting during the previous 10 games before being benched. The poor decision making didn’t improve. And Roddy B.’s fragile confidence, which Carlisle was harshly criticized for protecting by limiting Beaubois’ playing time as a rookie, plummeted … ‘[Stevenson]‘s so solid, man — just defensive presence, understands our defensive scheme, being able to knock down open shots, he’s not going to get out of his box, he’s going to make the right pass, just that person on the court that’s just solid,” center Tyson Chandler said. ‘We need more that.’ The Mavs don’t have to wonder whether Stevenson, a 6-foot-5, 232-pounder who hit half his 3-point attempts in the first two months of the season, can fit in the starting five. They have ample evidence: Dallas is 38-16 with Stevenson as a starter this season, including a 36-9 mark when Dirk Nowitzki is healthy. ‘It [sets] more of a tougher tone,’ Nowitzki said of Stephenson as a starter. ‘I always liked him, all season long. When he was starting, when Roddy was out, we had a phenomenal run there in November and December. I’m a big supporter of D-Steve. He’s just a rugged 2 guard who can guard 1s, 2s and 3s, so he’s versatile. His shot was looking really good early in the season. If he can shoot the ball like that, he’s going to be an animal for us in the playoffs.’ The Mavs haven’t given up on Beaubois. They’ve just pulled the plug on him as a starter for the playoffs.”

Washington has finally done it. Weeks of a rumored trade, rumors that began with the onset of Gilbert-gate, have finally come to a close, as the Wiz sent Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson packing. Their trade partner? Mark Cuban’s Dallas Mavericks, who in return sent Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, Quinton Ross and James Singleton to the nation’s capital.

So what did each team get out of the trade? According to Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski, “The trade strengthens the Mavericks’ frontline while giving the Wizards greater financial flexibility to rebuild in the wake of Gilbert Arenas’ suspension.”

Mark Cuban had been upset with Dallas’ end to the first half of the season and had hinted at coming changes. Howard had been struggling, and the change in scenery may help him refocus his fire. Landing Caron Butler will help the All-Star Weekend hosts on D, and Brendan Haywood will bolster their frontcourt. As for Washington, they’re trying to flip the script on a their current roster, and saw this as a step in the correct direction.

According to many, Washington is still looking to make changes, possibly one involving All-Star Antawn Jamison. Now people in Dallas can go back to focusing on the Dunk Contest and All-Star Game.

Wow, wow, wow. Where did the weekend go? It’s Monday morning — Happy Monday!– and I’m still trying to figure out where Friday evening went, let alone the rest of the weekend.

LeBron James can fly. Or he comes closer than the rest of us “mere mortals”. I mean, seriously. They showed the clip on NBATV last night and it was truly absurd with his head at the rim. Above the rim. Yeah. I don’t even know. It’s not even his head being at the rim, it’s like his shoulders were there.

Wild.

Do the Cavs throwback uniforms drive anyone else crazy? I feel like there are 80 million and the ones last night looked too much like Knicks colors for my liking. Maybe it’s just the LBJ to NYK talks that I’m already tired of.

Kinda like these Bosh to LA/Houston rumors. Can. We. Please. Stop.

To quote a Raptors person last night, during Bosh’s scrum as he was being asked questions about the rumors: “Hey Chris, is it January 10th, or July 10th?”

I mean, come on. It’s fun to speculate, but sometimes I’d just like to hear Bosh (or Bron, Wade, etc.) talk about the game he just played rather than give generic answers we’ve heard a million times about the biggest summer of their lives. Let the guys breathe. And play. And all of that.

Rajon Rondo up close is something I recommend for everyone who likes the game of basketball. He’s so quick, so, so very speedy, it’s mindboggling. Add in his passing, steals, banking 3-pointers in at the end of the shot clock AND a triple-double and Rondo made my Sunday sweet.

Against the Raps, Rasheed Wallace had his best game as a Celtic, scoring 29 points and hitting 5 of his 7 3-pointers. With the Celtics jumping out to a 10-0 start less than two minutes into the game, the Raptors kind of started out the game shooting themselves in the foot. Not the way to win against Boston.

Sheed telling the ref to watch the flops while reminding him that “this ain’t no Euroleague,” was awesome. As was some of the Celtics assistant coaching staff randomly yelling out “Ball Don’t Lie” when a Raptor was on the line and missed a free throw after a call they didn’t particularly agree with.

My favorite part of the afternoon was Doc asking media row what had happened in the NFL games as the final seconds ticked off of the clock. I also liked his Boston Celtics cufflinks.

DeShawn Stevenson coming out with “Agent Zero” on his ankle tape made my heart sing. I love teammates sticking with their friends/family/etc. (regardless of the stupiditiy of the situation, I think Stevenson feels/knows Arenas didn’t have any ill intent), and you know I love ankle tape and messages written on shoes.

Kinda makes me wistful for “All Alone 33″ and Steph Marbury, but it’s good. Makes me happy when guys express themselves. Just not sure how his organization would feel about him keeping Gil close when they are trying their damndest to keep him as far away as possible.

The Hornets grabbed their sixth straight in their game against the Wizards yesterday and Chris Paul had 26 points and 14 assists. Antawn Jamison had 32 points and eight rebounds as I continue to hope he ends up somewhere where he can win.

Speaking about the Cavs, yes they defeated the Blazers. Yes, LeBron had 41, 10 and 8 after scoring 31 in the first half. Can we get a shoutout for Brandon Roy? The guy is so damn efficient. Let’s look at his line from Friday evening in a win against the Lakers.

B. Roy – 32 points, 9-11 fgs, 13-14 fts, 5 rebs, 6 asts, 1 stl

That’s efficiency at it’s finest. That’s a damn fine line.

Pretty shooting percentages like that make me almost as happy as alliteration.

The Blazers are stealing what’s left of my bball heart.

On Saturday night, while most of the world was recovering from football and watching Barkley –who was, apparently, not quite what they had hoped for– on SNL, I was watching Tyreke Evans trying on the ROY crown and seeing how it fits.

Wow.

Against the Nuggets (who were on the second night of a back-to-back, but whatever), the Kings got the W as the rookie duo of Omri Casspi and Evans led their team down the stretch. After Chauncey Billups hit a three with 11 seconds remaining, Sacramento went to their rookie wonder and he scored with 0.7 seconds remaning to give his team the victory.

It was exciting, exhilarating and rewarding. The poise he shows is special. He doesn’t look like a rookie. He doesn’t act like a rookie and he sure as hell isn’t treated like a rookie by his teammates.

Does Evans have to wear a Dora the Explorer backpack? That image doesn’t even compute in my imagination.

Just asking. Dude is balling for real.

Casspi, too. Random fact, I think eight times out of 10, I type “Omar Casspi” before wanting to punch myself in the face for the slip. Other random typo’s I always do: “Buss” for bus, “Kidd” for kid “Perksins” for Perkins and “palys” for plays. Oh tired hands plus a basketball mind make for funny mistakes sometimes. The Omar thing annoys me, though. I don’t get where I get that one from. Sorry, Casspi. Love what you’re doing in Sac-town.

The Lakers smoked the Bucks in LA and I’m hoping Michael Redd is okay after he went down with that knee not looking good. About the Lakers/Bucks game: Brandon Jennings had a rough night in front of his fam/friends in LA, shooting just 4-for-17 from the floor. Kobe Bryant was even worse, hitting only 4-for-21 on the night.

Shannon Brown with a game-high 19 points on 8-for-12 field goals was great. As was his heave to beat the buzzer at the end of the third quarter and his back-to-back blocks on a single possession for the Bucks.

#LetShannonDunk.

Andrew Bynum had 17 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. Maybe he’s coming to Toronto? Blah. I’m not playing that game. Have a great day, everyone.

Well, it’s a rivalry to some. For others, not so much: “Remember when LeBron James said there was no rivalry between the Wizards and the Cavaliers? DeShawn Stevenson was asked about that comment Monday afternoon, on the eve of the rivalry’s first 2009-2010 incarnation. ‘He’s the Golden Child, he’s gonna say that,’ Stevenson said. ‘He has a lot of stuff to lose. I don’t. I don’t care.”‘

No argument here, DeShawn: “Stevenson is an aggressive player with an edge sharpened during a hard-knock life in Fresno, Calif., and he makes no apologies for that. He won’t hesitate to get under someone’s skin, if he feels it gives him an advantage. His ritual of running his hand across his face after making a big shot will also annoy some fans and players. ‘I think I’m the most hated player in the league,’ he said. ‘In fact, I know I am. Sometimes I do things that are kind of crazy,’ he admits, ‘but that’s my thing.”‘

Like we always do at this time, let’s take a trip around the various team media days…

• I had to go to Washington D.C. a few weeks ago, and I read Dan Brown’s new novel, The Lost Symbol, which is set in D.C., on the way there and back. Fun book. Not exactly literature or whatever, but…fun. Anyway, the villain is a guy running around D.C. with tons of tattoos all over his body. And they aren’t broken hearts or barbed wire tats, they’re obscure things like Latin phrases and numbers and animals. His next book? The DeShawn Code.

Most players wear their jerseys with pride, but Deshawn Stevenson took things a step further. The 2-guard, maybe known equally for his spats with LeBron as his game itself, turned his back into a Swingman, tatting his name and number on the template. When watching his game or just glancing at photos, it’s clear that Stevenson likes to let his personality show. — Adam Fleischer

After missing the previous 15 ballgames due to his bad back, DeShawn’s comeback lasted all of one night (Friday). He’s now back on the shelf: “It just kind of flared up on him,” interim coach Ed Tapscott said of Stevenson. “It’s the kind of thing where you take two steps forward, one step back, so we want to be cautious. We have a lot of games left and we’ve got the all-star break coming up so we’ll have that whole week in terms of helping a guy get better physically.”

It’s one week after New Year’s, and you know what that means—75 percent of America has already given up on their New Years’ Resolutions.

Down on yourself because you’re not running at 3 a.m. before work, you haven’t given up red meat, or you’re watching more than a half-hour of TV a night? Worry not! NBA players are just like you, except they’re taller and people actually care about their Twitter feeds. They break their New Year’s resolutions just like everyone else! Let’s take a look at which of your favorite NBA coaches and players have already kept or broken their resolutions, and which ones are still in progress.

In Good Shape:

“I want to prove that it’s possible for a point guard that it’s possible to play at the All-Star level while literally making more behind-the-back ball fakes than jump shots.” — R. Rondo

“I plan to stay up all the way to midnight, then promptly get to bed so that I can catch the matinée showing of Frost/Nixon the next day. I’m going to buy socks in bulk so I don’t realize I need new socks when I’m out shopping for khakis in a men’s store and end up paying $15 a pair. That is unacceptable. They’re just socks. Also, I’d like to put up the quietest 20-10 for a 2nd-place team in its conference ever.” — T. Duncan

“I want to settle, once and for all, the ultimate barroom debate and prove that I am better than Brian Scalabrine.” — M. Bonner

“If LeBron James gets called for traveling with the game on the line after putting up a 33 and 10 on my court while I sit and talk smack from the bench, you can bet I’m going to count that as a win and dive on the chance for my 16th minute like a dog on a bone.” — DESHAWN STEVENSON #2 WASHINGTON WIZARDS CHECK OUT MY MYSPACE

“I want to prove that the best way to get people to stop talking like you represent everything wrong with the human race is to keep quiet, play hard and hit shots.” — O.J. Mayo

“I want to prove that playing soft and missing shots is a good way to get people to just stop talking about you altogether.” — A. Bargnani

Still Up In The Air:

“I have to figure out whether to blame this mess on when I’m the general manager and the coach. Also, I want to figure out how to get through to Baron.” — M. Dunleavy Sr.

“I came to LA for a challenge, and even though things haven’t started off well, I’m going to see it through. Mark my words—before I leave the Clippers, I will have a recurring role on Entourage.” — B. Davis

“Somehow turn Anthony Randolph into a legitimate scorer instead of someone who looks like a 10-year-old child enlarged and given super powers, like in old school Power Rangers episodes.” — D. Nelson

“Perfect defense in which Randolph, Brandon Wright and Andris Biedrins link arms in a triangle outside of the key and prevent anyone from being able to enter it.” — D. Nelson

“Win games using lineups made entirely of shoot-first combo guards. I want my offensive sets to look as overstuffed as tracks from Chinese Democracy.” — D. Nelson

“Continue to hide the fact that Monta Ellis has actually been healthy all season and pretending to be Devin Harris for 20 minutes a game.” — D. Nelson

“Continue to throw darts at our D-League roster to prove that literally any guard on the planet can be successful for me, except Marcus Williams.” — D. Nelson

“If I complete all of these tasks, I have been promised that Dell Curry will fashion me another of the magical invisible fedoras he made for Stephen.” — D. Nelson

“In order to solve the adjustment problems I’ve had ever since coming into the NBA that not even inspirational poetry could solve, I’m going to finally learn to understand my teammates by Netflixing The Wire.” — J. Redick

“Not only do I want to win this Dunk Contest, but I want my performance to make me and Hedo Turkoglu the logical successors to Gnarls Barkley.” — D. Howard

“This year, I am going to come up with a suitable retort to ‘Tell me how my ass taste.’ After three months of research, promising trains of thought include the possible phallic connotations of ‘low post,’ reference to ‘diesel’ as being an outdated and environmentally irresponsible source of energy, or ‘Tell me How Steve Nash Taste.’ All of these threads could potentially lead to the discovery of a satisfactory ‘dissrespectful term’ to use on Shaq. Also, I’m going to get a ring this year if I have to walk over puppies in golf shoes to get it. I don’t foresee that being necessary, but I did buy golf shoes just in case.” — K. Bryant

Already Failed:

“Believe me, by the end of the year, kids on playgrounds everywhere are going to be trying to perfect the ‘crab dribble.’ And for the love of God, I hope I don’t do anything that would allow DeShawn Stevenson to keep talking.” — L. James

According to LeBron James, what he did last night in the waning moments of the Cavs/Wiz game was perfectly legal. Hell, he trademarked it. So don’t even try to steal it! It’s called a “crab dribble”, whatever that means, and here it is, for your viewing pleasure:

With all due respect, Mr. Crab, that sure looks like a travel to me.

One person who enjoyed the call more than others was Washington’s DeShawn Stevenson. Here’s what he had to say about it and the man who committed the violation, via the DC Sports Bog:

“I don’t care,” DeShawn said. “It’s whatever. I don’t like him. I don’t like that dude.”

Caron Butler brushed off DeShawn’s comments and said this “feud” is going to be life-long (fun!), and besides, he was far too busy thanking God for the refs finally calling a travel on Mr. James.

The issue of SLAM that we produce each year just after the Finals is probably the toughest issue we do each year. Because we’re coming off back to back to back to back issues, with very little turnaround time in between, and usually with some kind of special issue squeezed in there, too. (This year was no different with the special issues.) From All-Star until the Finals, we’re on the run, eatin’, non-stop, which doesn’t even account for this here website and all the posts and commotion we generate. Then we get out and cover the Finals all-out, and then the Draft comes right after that. And in between the end of the Finals and the Draft, there’s always one last issue to put together: The Champs issue. After the champs issue, we know we’ve finally got a break coming before we get to our Kicks issue, so we’re literally fiending to finish the issue.

I’m not sure where the tradition began of doing a Champs issue, but we’ve been doing it since I’ve been here. (Actually, we’ve been doing it since well before I was here — since issue 20.) Timing-wise, it’s one of the few issues we can do each year where we can sort of be timely with our cover, and we can celebrate the work of a team, the best team in the NBA.

It’s also always an action photo on the cover, which we rarely do otherwise. Sure, we could find a shot of a guy posing with the trophy or probably even use some shot from a month or a year ago, but we don’t — we go through thousands of pics to find something cool and different that, more than anything, represents the spirit of the Finals. And I think this year, as we always do, we hit it on the head…

And it don’t stop. There’s a lot of great content in the issue that goes way beyond the Celts. We’ve got the annual Dome Shots (photos of the year). The imitable Rus Bradburd caught up with Tim Hardaway (who Rus actually coached in college at UTEP). DeMarco Williams hung out with DeShawn Stevenson, and DeShawn showed us his tattoos and let his mouth rip. The Backboard (last page) is by some guy named Kobe Bryant. There’s tons of cool kicks and gear, the debut of our newest high school diary keeper, a goodbye letter from Mike James, the usual nonsense from the ABA, a pretty ridiculous poster, and a ton of other dope stuff.

Look, I’m not trying to tell you what to do with your money, but if it was me, I’d go out and buy a few copies of SLAM 121. I mean, I’m just saying…